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Managing waste behavior by manipulating the normative appeal of trash bins: Lessons from an urban field experiment
University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Environmental Science. Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4486-3644
University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Environmental Science. Department of Health, Learning and Technology, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7584-2275
Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics;Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise.
2023 (English)In: Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances, E-ISSN 2667-3789, Vol. 19, article id 200186Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Littering is a problem in many human societies. In this study, 9 individual street bins were manipulated on a central street in the city of Gävle, Sweden. The aim was to explore if changing the appearance of the bins, thereby manipulating the different types of social norms they signal, can increase the amount of trash they collect and mitigate littering. A field experiment tested the effectiveness of two alternatives to the conventional grey street bin; one bin foliated with pictures drawn by school children containing a normative anti-littering message (explicit norm), and one bright orange salient bin (implicit norm). Observed behavioral data was collected, and both the weight and volume of trash in the bins were measured each day for a period of one month. The results showed a tendency for the salient orange bin to increase trash collection compared to other bins; an effect most tangible towards the end of the weeks. The biggest effect was, however, that the explicitly normative bin reduced trash collection overall. These results provide lessons on how the appearance of bins can influence trash collection, potentially resulting in both desirable and undesirable outcomes.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier , 2023. Vol. 19, article id 200186
Keywords [en]
Design; Littering; Norms; Physical environment; Pro-environmental behavior; Saliency
National Category
Applied Psychology
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-43129DOI: 10.1016/j.rcradv.2023.200186ISI: 001102865100001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85174697881OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-43129DiVA, id: diva2:1804665
Available from: 2023-10-13 Created: 2023-10-13 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved

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Linder, NoahSörqvist, Patrik

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